Nanophotonic hybridization of narrow atomic cesium resonances and photonic stop gaps of opaline nanostructures

Abstract

We study a hybrid system consisting of a narrowband atomic optical resonance and the long-range periodic order of an opaline photonic nanostructure. To this end, we have infiltrated atomic cesium vapor in a thin silica opal photonic crystal. With increasing temperature, the frequencies of the opal's reflectivity peaks shift down by > 20% due to chemical reduction of the silica. Simultaneously, the photonic bands and gaps shift relative to the fixed near-infrared cesium D1 transitions. As a result the narrow atomic resonances with high finesse (ω/∆ω = 8 · 10 5 ) dramatically change shape from a usual dispersive shape at the blue edge of a stop gap, to an inverted dispersion lineshape at the red edge of a stop gap. The lineshape, amplitude, and off-resonance reflectivity are well modeled with a transfer-matrix model that includes the dispersion and absorption of Cs hyperfine transitions and the chemically-reduced opal. An ensemble of atoms in a photonic crystal is an intriguing hybrid system that features narrow defect-like resonances with a strong dispersion, with potential applications in slow light, sensing and optical memory.

Cartesian light: Unconventional propagation of light in a three-dimensional superlattice of coupled cavities within a three-dimensional photonic band gap

“…Indeed, recent parallel work has pointed out that with inverse woodpile cavities one can observe a substantially enhanced optical absorption at the cavity locations, which offers favorable opportunities for tiny optical sensors [50]. In the presence of two-level Cs atoms, we anticipate hybrid dispersion effects much beyond those observed before in weakly interacting opals [71]. In the presence of disorder, the hybrid cavity-emitter superlattice may reveal intriguing quantum-optical spin glass behavior, as predicted by John and Quang [72].…”

Atomic Response in the Near-Field of Nanostructured Plasmonic Metamaterial

“…More recently, high precision atomic spectroscopic measurements and time keeping , have been used for fundamental testing in physics. − However, characteristics of a transition are not an inherent property of the atom because they are also influenced by the environment. In particular, the spontaneous emission rate and lineshapes depend on the presence of a nearby media, waveguides, and resonators. − These environmental dependencies could be a limitation for precision measurements but become advantages for applications such as quantum information processing . Beyond atoms, hybridizations of more complex atomic-like systems such as quantum dots and carbon nanotubes with nanowires and plasmonic metamaterials have been reported. − Hybridization of atoms with metamaterial leading to strong atom-cavity coupling, line shaping, spontaneous emission modification, and lattice interactions were also investigated theoretically. − …”

Resonant infiltration of an opal: Reflection line shape and contribution from in-depth regions

“…This may naturally change if the exciting field is induced by the scattered light. For longer wavelengths (and unchanged sphere size), in the vicinity of the first-order Bragg reflection peak, our model could help understanding to which extent a nearly-forbidden propagation becomes partially allowed with the resonant infiltration [11]. Because the depth of the observed resonant response remains however confined at maximum to few wavelengths, our predictions of a sharp sensitivity to incidence angle and polarization should apply as well to a thick opal prepared by sedimentation.…”